Hale Ball Carlson Baumgartner Murphy PLC

Jean Galloway Ball is certified in Elder Law by the National Elder Law Foundation. She is a 1977 honors graduate of the National Law Center, George Washington University, and she did her undergraduate work at the University of California at Berkeley, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1971.
She is admitted to practice in Vir...

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Hale Ball Carlson Baumgartner Murphy PLC

Loretta Morris Williams is a certified elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. Ms. Williams was admitted to the Council of Advanced Practitioners, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) in 2012. She serves as President of the Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Ms. Willia...

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Needham Mitnick & Pollack, PLC

Judith Mtinick is well known for acting as a guardian, conservator, trustee or agent on behalf of clients or by court appointment. This experience gives her a wide perspective and extensive practical knowledge that she uses when advising clients in drafting their planning documents. Her experience, as a court appointed...

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Author Herbert Nass, an estate planning attorney for 25 years who has represented several celebrities, uses examples from celebrity estate plans as well as his own practice to illustrate what not to do when conducting estate planning. According to Nass, the biggest mistake is not planning at all. Nass points out the problems caused when Sonny Bono, Tupac Shakur, and Bob Marley all died intestate. He also documents, among other things, blunders involving personal property, real estate, executors, minors, prior marriages, taxes, disgruntled friends and family, and funerals and burials. While some mistakes are specific to celebrities or the super wealthy, most of the errors could be made by anyone.

Nass intersperses actual excerpts from celebrity wills and stories about celebrity estate plans throughout the book. For example, he cautions against leaving too much money to a pet, as Leona Helmsley did, or selling valuable property too soon after a death, something Jackie Onassis's family did. Nass's 101 mistakes range from the legal (e.g., not confirming how property is held before drafting an estate plan) to the practical (e.g., not draining water pipes in vacant houses) to the personal (e.g., disinheriting your children or grandchildren out of anger). Nass's writing style is entertaining and his stories are interesting and instructive.